Jacob Elordi has earned his first Oscar nomination for his role as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which debuted on Netflix back in November.
Elordi One of Many Surprising Nominations
Elordi’s nomination was announced on Thursday morning alongside the rest of the Oscar nominees. Many of the nominations in each category have been a sure thing for months, like the domination of Sinners and One Battle After Another, as well as Amy Madigan’s Supporting Actress nomination for her zeitgeist-dominating role as Aunt Gladys in Weapons. But there were a few that seemed like relative longshots going into the day, and Elordi’s was one of them. (It was not, however, the most unexpected acting nomination of the day—that would be a double header: Wunmi Mosaku’s Supporting Actress nom for Sinners; and Rose Byrne’s Best Actress nom for If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.)
Elordi was nominated in the category alongside Benicio Del Toro for One Battle After Another; Sean Penn for One Battle After Another; Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value; and Delroy Lindo for Sinners. This category was previously thought to belong to Penn, and it’s still his award to lose; but there’s a strong chance that Lindo, another nominee who wasn’t a sure bet until his name was read out, could steal it out from under him. It’s the veteran actor’s first Oscar nomination despite a career of acclaimed work, and he inarguably stole the show in Sinners. Elordi doesn’t have any chance of winning, but the nomination serves as a fitting recognition of the impressive body of work he’s quickly amassing.
Several Categories Lack a Clear Favorite
Other surprising nominations included Best Picture for Kleber Mendonça Filho’s spectacular The Secret Agent and Best Actor for Wagner Maura’s performance in the starring role. Maura became the first Brazilian actor to win a Golden Globe when he claimed the lead actor prize for Filho’s brilliantly idiosyncratic film; and though he likely won’t repeat that success at the Oscars, the film’s nominations show how bullish indie distributor Neon was in pushing the film to voters. The Secret Agent had a limited release around the holidays, though it didn’t make much of an impression at the box office and still hasn’t rolled out in some major markets. It’s not currently available to stream.
Rose Byrne pulled a similar upset in the Best Actress category for her stunning turn in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. (Bronstein’s husband, Marty Supreme co-writer, producer, and editor Ronald Bronstein, was himself nominated in a number of categories.) A24’s extremely dark comedy likewise had a limited release earlier in 2025; but despite what many hailed as a career-best performance from Byrne, it remained unclear how much of an impression the picture made on voters.
In general, the Best Actress race is the most open-ended it’s been in years, with no clear favorite amongst nominees Byrne; Jessie Buckley (Hamnet); Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue); Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value); and Emma Stone (Bugonia). Buckley’s win at the Golden Globes positions her as the favorite, and many voters feel she’s due the prize after solidifying herself as one of the industry’s most reliable and changeable talents. But Hudson is also tracking strongly amongst older voters, though that’s likely not enough momentum to take her over the top. However, as happened in 2024 when Stone’s Poor Things turn triumphed over Lily Gladstone’s in Killers of the Flower Moon, there’s a high probability the Bugonia star could pull an upset over the favored choice to win.
